The Barre des Écrins (French pronunciation: [baʁ dez‿ekʁɛ̃]) is a mountain in the French Alps with a peak elevation of 4,102 metres (13,458 ft). It is the highest peak of the Massif des Écrins and the Dauphiné Alps and the most southerly alpine peak in Europe that is higher than 4,000 metres. It is the only 4,000-metre mountain in France that lies outside the Mont Blanc Massif. Before the annexation of Savoy in 1860 it was the highest mountain in France.
Barre des Écrins
The Barre des Écrins (4,102 m) in Hautes Alpes, France and the Glacier Blanc
The Barre des Écrins is the highest peak in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region including all of Occitania and the Southern Alps. It is located in the commune of Pelvoux and is situated near the Drainage divide between the Durance and the Vénéon. This divide passes 250 metres west of the summit, along the ridge that leads to the summit of the sub-peak Dôme des Écrins (4088 metres). The south face of the mountain is rocky while the north face is ice as it is the starting point of the Glacier Blanc.
The mountain is surrounded by four glaciers: to the north-west is the Bonne Pierre glacier, to the north-east the Glacier Blanc, to the south-west the Glacier du Vallon de la Pilatte, and finally in the south-east the Glacier Noir. It is separated from the Snow Dome of Écrins (4015 m) by the Lory Gap (3974 m) to the west, the Barre Noir (3751 m) by the Écrins Gap (3661 m) to the north-east and by Fifre (3699 m) via the Col des Avalanches (3499 m) to the south.
Geology
The mountain consists of migmatizedgneiss, an acidic rock composed of quartz-feldspar. On the upper slopes there is an amphibolic face over the top of the migmatized gneiss forming the top. These formations overlap a large granitePluton that forms the summit of Pelvoux.[2][3][4]
History
The Écrins were discovered by geographers belatedly in the 19th century when they were the highest point in France (Savoy being part of the Kingdom of Sardinia at that time). The mountains are actually located on the borders of the Oisans and Briançonnais with the highest point completely in Briançonnais. They were sometimes called "point of Arsines" by locals.
The Englishmen A. W Moore, Horace Walker, and Edward Whymper, guided by Michel Croz from Chamonix and Christian Almer from Switzerland, made the first ascent of the Barre des Écrins on 25 June 1864. They cut steps on the north face of the Barre until they reached the top of the eastern edge via the Whymper corridor. They then reached the top of this high ridge which was composed of very unstable rocks. Edward Whymper described the ascension in his book Scrambles Amongst the Alps in the Years 1860-69.[5][6]
William Auguste Coolidge made the first direct climb up the north face of the Barre des Ecrins in July 1870 by cutting 500 steps.[7]
The first ascent without a guide is credited to Frederick Gardiner in 1878 accompanied by Charles and Lawrence Pilkington.
The southern face was climbed for the first time in 1880 by Pierre Gaspard together with Henri Duhamel. The south pillar, a part of the Black glacier ending at the top, was climbed for the first time in 1944 by the famous couple of climbers Jeanne and Jean Franco.[5]
Ascent
South face of the Barre (on the right). Below is Coolidge Peak and Le Fifre.
The Barre des Écrins attracts many climbers and has many routes to the top.[8]
The mountain is traditionally scaled from the Pré de Madame Carle in the valley of Ailefroide. The normal route climbs the entire length of the Glacier Blanc. This is a much-used route, because it is the usual way to the Dôme des Écrins, one of the most easily climbed 4,000 m alpine peaks. It starts from the Refuge des Écrins and climbs the north face almost up to the Lory saddle (3,974 m), where the routes to the Dôme and the Barre divide. The ascent of the Barre continues by a rocky arête all the way to the summit. The guides from La Bérarde have equipped the Col des Écrins with cables allowing them to bring their clients to the summit.
Other more challenging routes to the summit exist, such as the South Face rated AD (Fairly Difficult). The quality of the rock on the mountain ranges from poor to average and especially on the South Face of the mountain the risk of rockfall is significant.
It is possible to climb the Direct Coolidge in late spring directly to the summit with crampons and an ice axe. Depending on snow conditions, this route can also be done on skis.
The south-north traverse of the Barre des Écrins bar is also one of the classic routes of the massif.
In summer it is possible to climb a steep path on the south face with the Pilier Sud being the most traveled route.
The record for an ascent on foot is 1 hour 55 minutes by Mathéo Jacquemoud in June 2012, starting from Pré de Madame Carle (1874 m) by the normal route of the Dôme and the Whymper corridor. He beat the old record by Hubert Fievet (2 hours 3 minutes in 1998).[9]
The record for round-trip ski mountaineering is 2 hours 51 minutes by Nicolas Bonnet in 2009 from the Pré de Madame Carle.[10]
The Barre des Écrins is the subject of the longest photographed and recognised line of sight on Earth. In July 2016, Marc Bret took a photograph of the mountain from the Pic de Finestrelles in the Pyrenees, some 443 km distant. [1]
^Geological Map of France at 1:50000 consulted on InfoTerre (Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans page). (in French)
^J.-C. Barfêtry and A. Pécher, Notice on the Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans page, 1984, BRGM, p. 21–23, online 10 December 2006, consulted on 6 February 2013 (in French)
^Maurice Gidon, The Barre des Écrins and the right flank of the high Vénéon, 1 June 2010, online 10 July 2011, consulted on 6 February 2013 (in French)
^ abRichard Goedeke, 4000 des Alpes, Libris, coll. Les Guides Libris, June 2007, 22 pages.
^Scrambles Amongst the Alps in the Years 1860-69, Edward Whymper, Chapter IX p. 201-221
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barre des Écrins.
The Barre des Écrins on SummitPost
Climbing the Barre des Écrins in pictures (in French)
Barre des Écrins at 4000er.de (in German)
January 20, 2023
barre, Écrins, french, pronunciation, baʁ, ekʁɛ, mountain, french, alps, with, peak, elevation, metres, highest, peak, massif, Écrins, dauphiné, alps, most, southerly, alpine, peak, europe, that, higher, than, metres, only, metre, mountain, france, that, lies,. The Barre des Ecrins French pronunciation baʁ dez ekʁɛ is a mountain in the French Alps with a peak elevation of 4 102 metres 13 458 ft It is the highest peak of the Massif des Ecrins and the Dauphine Alps and the most southerly alpine peak in Europe that is higher than 4 000 metres It is the only 4 000 metre mountain in France that lies outside the Mont Blanc Massif Before the annexation of Savoy in 1860 it was the highest mountain in France Barre des EcrinsThe Barre des Ecrins 4 102 m in Hautes Alpes France and the Glacier BlancHighest pointElevation4 102 m 13 458 ft 1 Prominence2 045 m 6 709 ft 1 Isolation107 3 km 66 7 mi ListingUltraCoordinates44 55 21 N 06 21 36 E 44 92250 N 6 36000 E 44 92250 6 36000 Coordinates 44 55 21 N 06 21 36 E 44 92250 N 6 36000 E 44 92250 6 36000 1 GeographyBarre des EcrinsFranceLocationHautes Alpes FranceParent rangeDauphine AlpsClimbingFirst ascent25 June 1864 by A W Moore Horace Walker and Edward Whymper with guides Michel Croz Christian Almer Senior and Christian Almer JuniorEasiest routesnow rock climb Contents 1 Geography 1 1 Location 1 2 Geology 2 History 3 Ascent 4 Longest line of sight 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksGeography Edit The south face of Barre des Ecrins Location Edit The Barre des Ecrins is the highest peak in the Provence Alpes Cote d Azur region including all of Occitania and the Southern Alps It is located in the commune of Pelvoux and is situated near the Drainage divide between the Durance and the Veneon This divide passes 250 metres west of the summit along the ridge that leads to the summit of the sub peak Dome des Ecrins 4088 metres The south face of the mountain is rocky while the north face is ice as it is the starting point of the Glacier Blanc The mountain is surrounded by four glaciers to the north west is the Bonne Pierre glacier to the north east the Glacier Blanc to the south west the Glacier du Vallon de la Pilatte and finally in the south east the Glacier Noir It is separated from the Snow Dome of Ecrins 4015 m by the Lory Gap 3974 m to the west the Barre Noir 3751 m by the Ecrins Gap 3661 m to the north east and by Fifre 3699 m via the Col des Avalanches 3499 m to the south Geology Edit The mountain consists of migmatized gneiss an acidic rock composed of quartz feldspar On the upper slopes there is an amphibolic face over the top of the migmatized gneiss forming the top These formations overlap a large granite Pluton that forms the summit of Pelvoux 2 3 4 History EditThe Ecrins were discovered by geographers belatedly in the 19th century when they were the highest point in France Savoy being part of the Kingdom of Sardinia at that time The mountains are actually located on the borders of the Oisans and Brianconnais with the highest point completely in Brianconnais They were sometimes called point of Arsines by locals The Englishmen A W Moore Horace Walker and Edward Whymper guided by Michel Croz from Chamonix and Christian Almer from Switzerland made the first ascent of the Barre des Ecrins on 25 June 1864 They cut steps on the north face of the Barre until they reached the top of the eastern edge via the Whymper corridor They then reached the top of this high ridge which was composed of very unstable rocks Edward Whymper described the ascension in his book Scrambles Amongst the Alps in the Years 1860 69 5 6 William Auguste Coolidge made the first direct climb up the north face of the Barre des Ecrins in July 1870 by cutting 500 steps 7 The first ascent without a guide is credited to Frederick Gardiner in 1878 accompanied by Charles and Lawrence Pilkington The southern face was climbed for the first time in 1880 by Pierre Gaspard together with Henri Duhamel The south pillar a part of the Black glacier ending at the top was climbed for the first time in 1944 by the famous couple of climbers Jeanne and Jean Franco 5 Ascent Edit South face of the Barre on the right Below is Coolidge Peak and Le Fifre The Barre des Ecrins attracts many climbers and has many routes to the top 8 The mountain is traditionally scaled from the Pre de Madame Carle in the valley of Ailefroide The normal route climbs the entire length of the Glacier Blanc This is a much used route because it is the usual way to the Dome des Ecrins one of the most easily climbed 4 000 m alpine peaks It starts from the Refuge des Ecrins and climbs the north face almost up to the Lory saddle 3 974 m where the routes to the Dome and the Barre divide The ascent of the Barre continues by a rocky arete all the way to the summit The guides from La Berarde have equipped the Col des Ecrins with cables allowing them to bring their clients to the summit Other more challenging routes to the summit exist such as the South Face rated AD Fairly Difficult The quality of the rock on the mountain ranges from poor to average and especially on the South Face of the mountain the risk of rockfall is significant It is possible to climb the Direct Coolidge in late spring directly to the summit with crampons and an ice axe Depending on snow conditions this route can also be done on skis The south north traverse of the Barre des Ecrins bar is also one of the classic routes of the massif In summer it is possible to climb a steep path on the south face with the Pilier Sud being the most traveled route The record for an ascent on foot is 1 hour 55 minutes by Matheo Jacquemoud in June 2012 starting from Pre de Madame Carle 1874 m by the normal route of the Dome and the Whymper corridor He beat the old record by Hubert Fievet 2 hours 3 minutes in 1998 9 The record for round trip ski mountaineering is 2 hours 51 minutes by Nicolas Bonnet in 2009 from the Pre de Madame Carle 10 The Ecrins and the Glacier BlancLongest line of sight EditThe Barre des Ecrins is the subject of the longest photographed and recognised line of sight on Earth In July 2016 Marc Bret took a photograph of the mountain from the Pic de Finestrelles in the Pyrenees some 443 km distant 1 See also Edit Alps portalList of 4000 metre peaks of the AlpsReferences Edit a b c Europe Ultra Prominences Peaklist org Retrieved 2014 05 24 Geological Map of France at 1 50000 consulted on InfoTerre Saint Christophe en Oisans page in French J C Barfetry and A Pecher Notice on the Saint Christophe en Oisans page 1984 BRGM p 21 23 online 10 December 2006 consulted on 6 February 2013 in French Maurice Gidon The Barre des Ecrins and the right flank of the high Veneon 1 June 2010 online 10 July 2011 consulted on 6 February 2013 in French a b Richard Goedeke 4000 des Alpes Libris coll Les Guides Libris June 2007 22 pages Scrambles Amongst the Alps in the Years 1860 69 Edward Whymper Chapter IX p 201 221 Barre des Ecrins summitpost org Topo Mountaineering The Ways to the top in French A record on the barre des Ecrins in French Record of Ecrins alpine skiing 2009 in French External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barre des Ecrins The Barre des Ecrins on SummitPost Climbing the Barre des Ecrins in pictures in French Barre des Ecrins at 4000er de in German Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Barre des Ecrins amp oldid 1101146274, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
